Letters: Consider wider plastic bag ban

I agree with a ban on single-use plastic bags ["Vote on plastic bag ban put off," News, May 13].

It would make Long Island more environmentally friendly and allow us to waste less plastic. Many people already have reusable bags in their homes, so I don't feel that it would be a huge adjustment.

Once people take home their items after shopping, people throw out the bags right away, which means that they aren't being reused. People would become more aware of their recycling habits by making this small change.

By banning the bags, we would decrease the waste in our landfills. The bags take up space and aren't biodegradable. These bags are nonrenewable, which means that to create them, you have to use crude oil.

Plastic bags can be recycled to make up for the cost of using nonrenewable resources, but that isn't happening because only 12 percent of them are being recycled worldwide, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. By doing away with these bags, we wouldn't need to worry about enforcing recycling.

Riannon Daly, Oceanside

Plastic bags are unsafe for the environment. They do not decompose, and they harm animal habitats. You see them being thrown by the wind.

Patchogue Village is considering a ban on plastic shopping bags. This is a great idea, and the Town of Hempstead should follow.

Paper bags shouldn't replace plastic bags. Waldbaum's, Stop & Shop and other grocery stores have been selling reusable bags for the past few years. A lot of people store them in their cars and take them in for food shopping.